One million people have decade-old food in their freezers

Old food

Published:06:00Saturday 07 May 2016

More than one million Britons have food in their freezer that is more than a decade old, according to research suggesting the country has a habit of bunging stuff into the deep freeze and forgetting all about it.

Million Britons are estimated to have kept items frozen for between two and five years

While milk, bread, vegetables and meat are the most common items frozen and forgotten about, there are a host of other items that shouldn’t be there.

Conkers, a mobile phone and a pet goldfish were among unusual items recovered from Britain’s freezers – alongside condoms and a pregnancy test, according to the report by the carpet and upholstery cleaning company, London Cleaning System.

In addition to the 1.15 million people in the UK who have stashed food away for more than a decade, a further million have had items languishing in their cold storage facilities for between five and ten years.

Meanwhile, a staggering 22.5 per cent of those questioned – equivalent to 14 million Britons – have kept one or more frozen items for between two and five years, the research found.

However, while these figures may sound shocking, very little would surprise London Cleaning System’s owner, Filip Mijatov.

“Judging by what we find discarded in people’s homes it seems feasible that things would get forgotten about in the freezer,” he said.

The Government food safety recommendations say chicken should be frozen for no longer than a year, while pork, beef and lamb can be kept for six to 12 months.

What is the oldest thing in your cupboard or freezer? Let us know below